"My only desire was to protect my children as much as possible, which wasn't always possible. Since then I've eaten a lot of chocolate, had a very good Christmas, and now I'm into the new year," The Taste judge, 53, said Thursday on Good Morning America.

The celebrity chef further confessed that the trial and her divorce from media mogul Charles Saatchi were humiliating experiences, but said she stops short of self-pity.

"To not only have your private life but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying. But there are people going through a lot worse, and to dwell in any of it would be self-pity, and I don't like to do that," she said.

Lawson's former assistants were acquitted of fraud charges that claimed they racked up more than $1 million in personal expenses on Saatchi's company credit card without permission.